Arthur Meighen

Arthur Meighen (16 June 1874-5 August 1960) was Prime Minister of Canada from 10 July 1920 to 29 December 1921 (succeeding Robert Borden and preceding Mackenzie King) and from 29 June to 25 September 1926, interrupting King's two terms. He was leader of the Conservative Party of Canada from 1920 to 1926 and from 1941 to 1942.

Biography
Arthur Meighen was born in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada on 16 June 1874, and he graduated from the University of Toronto and opened a law practice in Manitoba. He entere the House of Commons as a Conservative Party of Canada member in 1908, and became Solicitor-General under Robert Borden, serving from 1913 to 1917. As Minister of the Interior from 1917 to 1920, he was responsible for some of the most important legislation of World War I, such as the creation and nationalization of Canadian National Railways and the introduction of compulsory military service overseas. His suppression of the 1919 general strike in Winnipeg earned him the lasting hostility of the labor movement. Nevertheless, he became leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister in 1920. He lost the 1921 general elections owing to the rise of the Progressive Party of Canada, though the Conservatives recovered sufficiently to become the largest party in 1925. Mackenzie King's government with the support of the Progressive Party collapsed in 1926, whereupon Meighen formed a minority government which lasted three months. Defeated in the ensuing elections, he retired as party leader. In 1932 he entered the Senate, and in 1941 was recalled to lead the Conservatives. He failed to enter the House of Commons in a by-election in 1942, however, and withdrew from politics. He died in 1960.